Pittsburgh Steelers fans were excited to see Troy Fautanu in action for the first preseason game of his NFL career against the Texans. Unfortunately, everyone could feel their stomach drop when it was reported the first-round offensive tackle sustained a knee injury in his exhibition debut.
The good news is that Fautanu's injury is considered minor. Though he was seen with a knee brace at Steelers training camp early this week, Fautanu avoided structural damage but is expected to miss at least two weeks. This means the next time he suits up may not be until Pittsburgh's season opener on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers aren't concerned about his lack of practice reps.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers 'don't want to wait any longer' to give Fautanu the starting right tackle job. After three weeks of training camp and 25 snaps in the preseason opener, Mike Tomlin is ready to hand Fautanu the keys to the ignition.
Steelers show glowing confidence in Troy Fautanu
This decision leaves veteran offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. and 2023 first-round Broderick Jones to battle it out for the starting left tackle role. Moore has been Pittsburgh's starting left tackle since being selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Jones is coming off a forgettable preseason performance against the Texans.
Obviously, the hope is that Broderick 'balls out' and takes the starting left tackle job from Moore -- giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a promising young pair of first-round tackles on the starting offensive line.
Regardless of how the LT competition goes, Dulac reports the right tackle job has already been decided. When Fautanu returns from his knee injury, the job is his... and the team doesn't plan on looking back.
When the Steelers selected Fautanu, there was debate as to which spot he should play on the offensive line. The Washington product was a left tackle by trade during his college career with the Huskies, but his size profile (6'3 3/4'', 317 lbs) suggested he should move to guard or center at the next level.
Instead, Fautanu will look to make a seamless transition to right tackle, as the Steelers have expressed they want to move Broderick back to his more natural position as the blindside protector.
Now Fautanu needs to work his way back to the field and prove why the Steelers are making the right decision to roll with him at the start of the season. Fans have big expectations for the future of Pittsburgh's offensive tackles, and Fautanu's convincing hold of the starting right tackle job should put our minds at ease with how well he performed at training camp before the knee injury.